What to Do With Outdated Clubhouses
For all the money that is spent on grand club houses by our industry, do they really add all that much value? Sure, they are impressive or at least are targeted to be that way to prospects, but for their cost verses benefit, it doesn’t work.
From my old days at Village Green Companies I built somewhere between thirty five and forty clubhouses for them. In the early days a Clubhouse, Pool and all the Jazz went for a little under a half a million, (I am showing my age here LOL). The last few I did were up to a few million, without the pool. While they seemed pretty cool at the time, they never really got used much once residents are moved in. And, what to do with that space as they age. We have an idea at the Urbane Lab, Co Work Space.
What if you could transition part or all of your tied old clubhouse into a hip and cool Co Work Space that generates revenue, and potential prospects for your apartments. This is taking the old idea of a business center to an entirely different level.
Coworking is an emerging trend for a new pattern for working
Typically work-at-home professionals or independent contractors or people who travel frequently end up working in relative isolation. Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.
Some coworking spaces were developed by nomadic internet entrepreneurs seeking an alternative to working in coffeeshops and cafes, or to isolation in independent or home offices.
Business accelerators, business incubators and executive suites do not seem to fit into the coworking model, because they often miss the social, collaborative, and informal aspects of the process, with management practices closer to that of a Cooperative, including a focus on community rather than profit. Many of the coworking participants are also participants in BarCamp and other related open source technology activities.
At Urbane Apartments we are getting ready to launch our first Co Work Space in Birmingham MI. We are building out the space now. I have no idea how to operate a Co Work Space, but have been interested in it for awhile. The space is is pretty cool, There will be 2-3 private offices, 2 private conference rooms, 12-15 desks, a lounge area, copy machines, etc There is also a great outside courtyard too.
The space was a small clubhouse, approximately 2,500 SF that was part of a (42) unit apartment complex that we purchased last Dec, and have rehabbed and repositioned the property, and have decided to try the Co Work Space idea.
We feel that the Co Work niche will fit well into what we are doing, and could well work for you too.
Eric Brown
Eric’s background is rooted in the rental and real estate industries. He founded metro Detroit’s Urbane Apartments in 2003, after serving as senior vice president for a major Midwest apartment developer. He established a proven track record of effectively repositioning existing rental properties in a way that added value for investors while enhancing the resident experience. He also established Urbane Media, a social media marketing and PR laboratory, where innovative marketing ideas are tested. Eric has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and Business Week Magazine. You can connect with Urbane_Media on Twitter. Eric also writes regular articles for the following publications; Multi Housing News Social Media Examiner Search Engine Guide
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